Appearence is decent - might be the best thing about this beer. Nose has some good roast, char, and some coffee. Taste unfortunately is not as good and is seriously lacking. Lots of IBU but not done well. I'd be curious to see if the BBA version is any better. (296 characters)

In true "Russian Impaerial" style, the common roast flavor of stout is met with subtle fruit and spice elements. Starr Hill doesn't mess with the recipe too much as its these finesse elements that provide its own complexity and charm.

Cryptical pours with the darkest of dark brown hues and even black though its center. Its certain tar-like appearance allows for a slow and frothy lather to build upon the beer, lasting half the session. Its broken lace is somewhat sparse but only halts when does its delicate creme.

Bold roast aromas leap out immediately, bringing with it the scent of molasses and burnt toffee to balance the char. Dark roast coffee, dark chocolate and an earthy walnut note keeps the charred scent relegated to campfire; and so do the fruity aromas of plumb, grape and licorice spice.

Its taste is lead by the burnt sugar and charred toast flavor as molasses and toffee offer the counterpart to burnt embers, dark-roast coffee and cocoa powder. As the beer crosses middle palate, a fruit-filled center of plumbs, grapes, cherries and blackberries weave into a fennel-type spice for the culmination of licorice and then trailing with a spiced rum alcoholic finish.

Its full and creamy body is assisted by ample malt sweetness and stern carbonation. But once the carbonation lifts and the bulk of sweetness subsides, the beer lightens considerably late. As the beer closes with spicy rum-like alcohol, fruit acidity and mild; it lingers long and indefinite.

Its becoming rare to find truly "roasty" Imperial Stout with those subtle nuances of fruit, spice, earth and rounded sweetness. But with Starr Hill's dedication, the style is in good hands! (1,673 characters)

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours pitch black with a small light brown head. Smells of chocolate and slight candy like caramel. Tastes of very rich chocolate with the taste of aging being present, nice balance. Beer is carbonated lightly, full bodied, definitely more of a sipper than a sessionable. Overall, an above average beer. (357 characters)

Had this straight out of the bottle. This is labeled as am Imperial Stout/Americal Double. I'm sure black in color. I thinkBeer Advocate got it wrong calling it 7.52% abv while on the label of the bottle it says only a flat 7%. My first impression by reading the label is that "this is a bit on the lower side of ABV" for an imperial beer. I thought this beer didn't really have a lot to offer. I thought for an imperial stout it was overly hoppy. Sky high 70 IBU rating. You hop heads will enjoy it. Upon checking the Starr Hill site it states that this beer uses Simcoe hops which are thought to have a cult following. Doesn't stack up against the really good imperial stouts such as Old Ras and Yeti.

All and all, if you're a hop head you'll like it, if not, I'd pass on this one. (784 characters)

Served in a snifter, dark brown-black pour, with a small, tan head; moderate retention and lacing. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, hints of anise. Roasty dark malts, pretty typical stout material, ntoes of coffee and anise detected in the aroma, with a slight earthy hop presence. On the heavier side of medium-bodied, soft carbonation, fairly smooth, but not quite as rich as many of its peers. Pretty solid basic stout overall. (467 characters)

Using a small DT tulip, this bier has an opaque, dark brown color. Head is frothy and rocky, nicely beige colored, and lasts well at about 1/2"... Lacing? Quite nice and lasting well... Aroma has some bitter, burnt notes, plus some licorice and a little florality. The bier passes rather smoothly down the hatch, and the body is medium at best. With this style, I'd like to see more "oomph" and heft bodywise.

Flavor is malty and roasty, with dark choco, cocoa and some espresso notes. A little bitter coffee is also present, plus licorice and floral, flowery hopping in the dry finish. Verry similar, imo, to Smutty RIS.... Thnx Bro!! Prosit!

The beer poured a absolute black and produced a light brown creamy finger high head that actually left good lacing.The smell is of roasted malt, some coffee and has some hop notes in the nose.The taste is roasted malts, coffee and dark bitter chocolate. In the finish there are quite a lot of hop flavors, which I find I characteristic for an imperial Stout.Otherwise a nice drinkable Stout. (394 characters)

A: A fairly aggressive pour into a standard pint glass produced about an eighth of a finger of dark mocha colored head that dissipated to a collar in about two minutes. It did not leave any lacing. The brew is a black hole type of black - absolutely opaque.

S: The aroma is primarily hops - a strong pine and citrus hops combined with an earthy hops that smells a little like wet leaves. And, there is just a small hint of coffee and grain.

T: The taste follows the aroma very closely. There is pine and citrus, and earthy wet leaves hops. There is not much of a malt backbone. At best there is a hint of coffee and grain.

M: The body is light and a little thin with a fairly high level of carbonation.

O: Somehow this beer really misses the mark. It is surprisingly mild for a Russian imperial stout. It does have an interesting hops profile with the pine and citrus combined with something that smells like wet leaves composting on a forest floor (but, not in a bad way). But, the lack of a malt backbone to provide balance and complexity, and make it a Russian imperial stout, really hurts this beer. The brewery might be onto something with the leaf-like hops, but there is still a lot of room for improvement with this beer. (1,297 characters)

Nice looking stout, good and black with a nice light brown head that left a bit of a foamy cap and left sticky lace.

The smell and taste are of really pronounced burnt and deeply roasted malts, lots of espresso and french roast coffee, some smokiness, and a bit of bitterness that can only come from hops. GREAT combinations of flavors, this is one excellent beer!

Great mouthfeel too, wonderfully thick and rich with a roasty, lightly coffee/chocolate bitter aftertaste and just a bit of sweetness to finish.

Great job, I want more from this brewer and more of this beer.

Oddly, this particular American double/imperial stout isn't of the precise variety that I most prefer, but I still find myself extremely drawn to this beer. I usually like the more vanilla/sweet stouts and milk stouts better, but again, this one is the exception. The rather pronounced bitterness really accents the coffee and chocolate to an extent I hadn't quite anticipated and much enjoyed. Someone obviously put a lot of time and effort into this one, and I do appreciate it.

I would like more of this brewery and definitely want the barrel aged stuff. Great job! (1,149 characters)

T: Mmm...Sweet-bitter coffee beans soaked in bourbon. The maintaste is full of dry hops, huge malts, and fantastic stout flavours. Though the main body is sadly short, the bitterer endtaste lingers.

M:A lightly drying beer, bitter so, and rather substantial.

O: I was sufficiently impressed by this beer that my (sober) review is full of modifying expletives, eliminated here for propriety's sake. It has all the flavours a double stout should and is obscenely drinkable. I will definitely have it again; highly recommended. (748 characters)

Pours extremely dark with a fat tan head, easy to manipulate depending on how aggressively you pour. Leaves the stickiest lacing I've ever seen. Smells largely of hops, cascade? Very nice on the nose with some roasty aromas mixed in. The taste is extremely bitter while still maintaining a smooth mouthfeel with chocolate undertones.

This is an incredible beer, which is why I got 2 liters of it. Starr Hill gets beef because they get AB distribution, but damn this beer is good. Give it a shot if you're in the Crozet/Charlottesville, VA area (611 characters)

T: The burnt, toasted character is even stronger in the flavor and unfortunately overwhelms any subtleties that might be lurking under the surface. The black malt is accompanied by a little bitter dark chocolate and earthy hops.

M: A nice full feel accentuated by the cask delivery. Carbonation is low (duh) and makes for a very smooth experience.

D: A liked but didn't love this brew -- the harsh burned edge seems a little out of place and over the tops and doesn't let some of the finer qualities to come through. (740 characters)